Xmas

Pat's miracle shot of Santos Dumont's aeroplane replica

Ray's other attempt at photography

Xmas night at the park ... look what is shooting out of Ray's head!

A baby pink piano ... what a present!

Paula with her Dad, Euro

Enjoying himself?

Xmas cheers!

Ben & Pat with Paula's mum, Maristella

Ben, Paula and Paula's brother (Fabricio) and sister (Raphaela)

Ray, Ben & Paula at the party

First sight of Belo Horizonte

Downtown Belo Horizonte

View from restaurant just above our pousada

Ray trying his hand at photography

Jacuzzi luxury

Flowery toilet!

View from our chalet window



INTRODUCTION
Note from a novice blogger (Ray): I think that the text below will relate to the photos in the opposite order in which they will be published on the blog.

MINAS GERAIS
Driving out of Rio State and up into the mountains of Minas Gerais took about 6 hours. We left at 5.30 am to avoid the traffic that would build up on the 9 mile bridge across the bay from Niteroi to Rio an hour or so later. As we drove north out of Rio after 6 am, past the international airport, there were already miles of cars, lorries and coaches (with people standing in them for over an hour) queuing to get into Rio. The road slowly climbed and bent its way up to Petropolis, the old capital of Rio State, and then through well-kept toll roads entered Minas Gerais.

Minas Gerais is a fertile place. Everywhere is green. It has the best cheese in Brazil! But no amount of greenery can hide the fact that the entire mountainous sierra is full of iron. Iron not only comes out of the mines here: it colours absolutely everything! The soil is bright red. The rivers are brown. All the old road signs are covered in red dust and rust. The cars and lorries, of all colours, have a red-brown covering on their wheels and at the bottom half of their doors. It is a place of spectacular views and a barely obscured Martian landscape.

Ben’s one-litre Fiat Sienna eventually toiled over the top of a 1500 metre mountain and came down the other side to our pousada. The pousada perched over the State looking westwards (see photo taken from our chalet window). The chalet itself was spacious and had a number of unusual features (apart from the breathtaking view). The bed was comfortable but built upon a solid concrete slab (we had never seen this before). The bed was made up and welcome chocolates placed on the pillow (how sweet!) and flowers placed delicately down the toilet pan! (We’ve certainly never seen that either … see photo). The Jacuzzi was a new luxury for us too.

From our high altitude view, we watched another extraordinary sight. It was late afternoon and storm clouds could be seen stretching across the horizon. Lightning occasionally flashed along the storm front as it slowly approached. As it got nearer, we could look down on the lightning as it seemed to be pushed like a wave in front of the huge cloud formations behind. The wind began to touch us long before the storm reached us and it was already clear that this was not the normal rainstorm we are used to in the UK. We watched a mini-tornado form on one of the hillsides away to the west and it slowly walked its way down the slope. The lightning became brighter and the thunder closer and, quite suddenly, visibility out of our vantage point dropped to zero as the clouds swept up our mountainside. The lightning took out the power line and the thunder sounded as if we were being struck directly by cannon fire! The wind and rain continued all night but, by the morning, the storm had cleared and we have had nothing but sunshine since then.


BELO HORIZONTE
How can we describe Belo Horizonte? After Rio, there can be no more spectacular-looking cities. But approaching Belo Horizonte from the south is a unique experience. Every city seems to have its outskirts. You know when you are getting towards Rio, or London, or anywhere else of any size. But Belo Horizonte is different. One moment you are in the Minas Gerais countryside with its red, dusty roads and green mountainsides. You cross a viaduct, round a hillside and peep over the side of the parapet and what do you see? (viz photo) … housing as far as the eye can see! It is the sudden-ness which is unique. Round the next corner and you see the rest of the city with innumerable high-rise blocks stretching to the “beautiful horizon”. Two minutes later you are driving into the centre of a city of about 4 million people! It would be like driving along in the Derbyshire countryside one minute and, within two minutes, finding yourself in Oxford Street!

We enjoyed a happy time in the city on Xmas Eve with a small selection (25) of Paula’s family (viz photos) and ventured into the city centre park on Xmas day in the evening (more photos). Of course nearly all shops were shut by then – but before the holiday Paula enjoyed showing Pat why Belo Horizonte is regarded as one of the best places to shop in Brazil.


SANTOS DUMONT
Pat has taken most of the photos and is clearly a talented photographer. Nowhere has she demonstrated these skills more brilliantly than in Santos Dumont. Driving back from Belo Horizonte to Rio, we passed through the town named after the famous inventor. In previous years we have Santos Dumont’s house in Petropolis, a house he designed and is full of his inventions and now acts as a museum to his achievements. The domestic airport in Rio is named after him. What did he do? Amongst other things he flew the first aeroplane before the Wright brothers ever took off. But Brazilians don’t write history so we are normally only taught about the Wright brothers. What did his aeroplane look like? Well there is a full-sized replica erected by the roadside in Santos Dumont … but there is no way that you can stop on the highway there. So Pat snapped it as we whizzed past in the car! (viz photo). Her future as a paparazza would be assured if she could find a daring motorcyclist to zoom around with her hanging on the back snapping furiously!